It proved to be a devastating result for the ex-Red Bull academy driver after he had led earlier in the race. Enzo Fittipaldi, the son of former world champion Emmerson Fittipaldi, claimed his first F2 victory for Carlin ahead of Van Amersvoort Racing’s Richard Verschoor.
Daruvala had been optimistic heading into the race even despite the threat of rain forcing the drivers to go onto different tyres. He finished 10th in the qualifying session and therefore secured pole position due to the reverse grid conditions in F2.
“I think our pace is good in the wet, so that’s important. I’m leading, so hopefully I have a good start and can control the race from there. I just hope it’s either wet or dry and not a lot of pit stops in the middle because that’s not where you want to be when you’re leading. I have clean air so I should be able to pick my line and go for it from the beginning, so that’s going to be the goal.”
He was hoping for an incident-free race, but the adventurous headrest clearly had other ideas and Daruvala leaves Spa-Francorchamps without points from the sprint race, although Sunday’s feature race will offer an opportunity to make amends.